The four-round meet begins Tuesday and runs through Friday. It's the 14th trip to nationals in 15 seasons for St. John's.

The first time junior Drew Lynch and the St. John's golf team made the trip to the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C., things didn't go as well as they had hoped.

The second time went much better.

Now Lynch and company are hoping the third time will be the charm when the Johnnies return to Grandover to take part in the Division III national golf meet this week.

"(Head coach) Bob (Alpers) has been telling us this is like our final exam," Lynch said. "We've studied. We know what the questions are going to be. Now it's time to go out and be tested. We have a lot of experience on this golf course now and hopefully that will pay off."

The four-round meet begins Tuesday and runs through Friday. It's the 14th trip to nationals in 15 seasons for St. John's, and this year's tournament will be played at a course on which the Johnnies finished 12th out of 18 teams at the prestigious Tournament Town Championship Preview last September.

That competition featured many of the same teams St. John's will see in the national field this week. And Alpers said his team's play in that tournament is a big part of why, the Johnnies are ranked No. 24 in the latest Golfstat Division III men's rankings and No. 20 in the most recent Golfworld/Nike Coaches' poll — despite entering the national meet having won six straight competitions dating back to the MIAC Championships in early October.

"It's so funny because I believe when we play well, we can play with anybody in the country," Alpers said. "We're not ranked as high as we have been in the past. But that's really based on one bad day we had down (at Grandover). Since then, we've really been on a roll.

"But that's how it goes when you play up north like we do. If you have a bad day when you play against those southern schools, that's how they'll remember you and that's where you'll be ranked."

St. John's did return to Grandover over spring break in March and had the chance to get another crack at the course — despite facing some inclement weather.

"There was such a big difference," Alpers said. "When our kids got out there the second time, they had a ton of confidence. We played well even though the weather was terrible. We had two ice storms. There was one day when all we could do is sit in our hotel. I might be the worst trip-planner in America."

Redlands (Calif.) is No. 1 in the Golfstat rankings. Illinois Wesleyan — ranked No. 1 in the coaches' poll — is No. 2. It was Illinois Wesleyan that won the Tournament Town Championship Preview back in September.

"If we can get one guy to go low each day and the rest of us stick around par, we'll be in pretty good shape," Lynch said.